Search The Fig Tree site for stories of people and communities making a difference in the Inland Northwest:

December 2008

Art work of Spokane woman conveys faith and values locally to globally

Sensitive truth-telling helps the Center for Organizational Reform heal groups

Church leaders celebrate unity, urge more common action

New AmeriCorps outreach coordinator expands Fig Tree capacity

State association honors Fig Tree and editor for ecumenical leadership

Malcolm Haworth begins service as ecumenical, interfaith consultant

Hosting students, mission trips, travel keep family attuned to diversity

Two local Reform Jewish congregations become one: Emanu-El

Congregation Emanu-El begins its life with its own Torah scroll

Life Center builds Habitat home for a member family

Men’s and outreach minister finds he receives when he gives

Aging agency director expects baby boomers to boost needs and volunteerism

Women gain voices through photographic art in traveling exhibit

November 2008

Oxen and mules help Palouse farmer slowly adopt organic methods

Marshall Islands United Church of Christ retains Pacific traditions for people in Spokane

Walla Walla Roastery is a coffee shop that connects people, faith

Documentary depicts parallels between immigrants and Advent Posadas

FaithTrust Institute hopes religious institutions will be sanctuaries of safety

Teens and adults feed hungry people through Fatima garden

Serving in clinics abroad stirred commitment to fair trade

Concert presents original songs telling stories of homeless people

Dialogue will explore opportunities, challenges of ecumenism today

October 2008

Faiths exchange insights on peace

Faith empowers advocacy for abused women

Emmanuel Family Life Center nears completion

Ursuline tradition still inspires service projects

Christ Kitchen mixes jobs, faith

Lay Franciscan concerned about injustices to cancer patients

Four churches build affordable housing

Faith and politics intermingled

September 2008

Cheney area rancher Maurice Robinette implements sustainable practices with his herd of 100 cattle

Ecumenist Alice Woldt rebuilds state ecumenical agency - Washington Association of Churches

Choir director Sharon Cowan of Spoaken advocates equity in her music and her life

New fair trade retailer Kim Harmson learns about lives of producers as she prepares to educate customers at Kizuri in Spokane

Whitworth University students experience history of spirituality in monastic community for a January term retreat

ö	Stephen Ministry trains laity in pastoral care: Barbara White facilitates the program at Audubon Park United Methodist Church

Tom Ulvin's ski injuries created empathy to help help him educate seniors prevent falls through RSVP in Spokane

June 2008

• Thousands of children, youth, families and adults stretch their skills and faith at camps
• Partners strengthen ties with Anuak in Gambella, Ethiopia
• National United Methodist church staff member serves a church in Green Bluff
• Intern updates media literacy resources for Northwest Alliance for Respsonsible Media
• Martin Luther King, Jr., Family Outreach Center discerns if its bricks and mortar help it best serve its neighbors
• Farm workers in Pasco now live in 'green' affordable housing
• Iranian cyclists pedal path of peace and plant trees around the world.

May 2008

• Elementary teacher boosts life-long habits for learning, health and fitness
• Couple sow seeds to save soil on farm near St. John and as regional USDA consultant
• Spokane youth assist in hurricane recovery in Waveland, Miss.
• Medical mission in Romania leads Spokane nurse into domestic violence efforts
• Union Gospel Mission opens women's and children's center
• Whitworth starts master's in theology degree
• Children fill halls of aging church in Project SPEAR program.
• Martin Marty speaks in Spokane on global-local ties in age of technology Bedouins creating instant global connections

April 2008

• Tamales become high school educations as Spokane students raise funds for El Salvadoran high school
• Overlapping generations lend continuity to life of 100-year-old Manito Presbyterian Church
• Parish nurse fills spiritual and physical needs at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John
• Faith and Environment Network builds 'green' voice
• Global travels foster relationships that build peace for weaver-writer in Valleyford
• Young adults hope creation care might permeate churches
• Gonzaga Prep class reflects on dynamics of evil-doers
• Stories bear fruit for The Fig Tree

March 2008

• Singer Shirley Grossman stirs cultural bonds with Jewish songs and Kindermusik preschool
• Dream becomes concrete as Emmanuel Family Life Center construction is underway in East Central Spokane
• Food banks, such as the Salvation Army, absorb client of closing St. Vincent de Paul in Spokane
• Social enterprise of Transitions for Women helps women at the Women's Hearth
• Church seeks to provide tipping point to improving life in West Central Spokane
• Youth for Christ Center opens doors to youth in West Central Spokane
• Whitworth grad encounters hope, violence in her work with Westminster House and visiting in Guatemala and El Salvador
• Inner City Outings introduce children to wilderness experiences
• Rural teacher Donivan Johnson composes church music and gives lectures on musicians
• Center for Justice negotiates settlements that change society, says its director Breean Beggs
• Traffic light stops worshipers to donate to CROP Walk hunger relief efforts at Spokane Valley United Methodist Church
• Spiritual quest becomes a pilgrimage for Matthew Gallitin, now a cantor and helping start an Orthodox church in Bonners Ferry
• Pedals 2 People recycles bicycles, providing some to Volunteers of America's Crosswalk program for teens on the streets

February 2008

• Fair trade makes world neighbors—Ganesh Himal warehouse is in countryside near Spokane
• Faith community is visible in 2008 Martin Luther King Jr March
• Adoptee claims two cultures after discovering and exploring his Native American heritage
• New director of Human Rights Education Institute in Coeur d'Alene teaches that human rights are 'inalienable'
• 90-year-old man has volunteered to do most Habitat tasks
• Computer training opens doors to travel, culture for retired EWU professor Morag Stewart
• Religious groups historically influence public life: report on 2008 faith issues

January 2008

• Pain of discrimination stirs empathy for Shahrokh Nikfar, who hosts 'The Persian Hour' on KYRS
• VOA provides permanent supportive housing
• Bishop Skylstad reflects on term as president of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
• Chabad Center supplements Jewish life
• Morningstar Baptist Church seeks healing, hope
• Kenyan family involves St. John Vianney Church in AIDS project
• Gonzaga professor, John Sheveland, introduces interfaith dialogue
• Silver Valley Episcopal priest, Jane Nelson-Low, introduces congregation to opportunity to feed 30 Ugandan orphans
• Colville Pastor’s colleagues rally to lead adventures in worship